The Lake House

Jace's old house by the lake was not what I expected.

I expected a cabin. Old, small, dusty.

This was a glass house hidden in trees. Big windows facing the lake. No neighbors. Just water, trees, and us.

Ethan drove. Jace sat in the back with me. My hand in his. Ethan's eyes watching us in the rearview mirror every 5 seconds.

"How long has this house been here?" I asked.

"Since our dad died," Jace said. "We used to come here to hide. No one knows about it except us. And now you."

Ethan parked. "No service here. No campus gossip. No classes. Just us."

My phone already said "No Signal." My stomach dropped.

"No signal? What if I need -"

"You won't need anything," Ethan said, opening my door for me. "We brought everything."

Jace had already grabbed my backpack from the trunk. He had packed it while I was in the bathroom. How did he know where I keep my clothes?

Inside, the house was warm. Someone had heated it before. Blankets on the big couch. Fire already crackling.

"Who heated it?" I asked.

"I did," Jace said. "This morning at 5am. When Ethan texted me that you slept at his place."

Ethan smirked. "You were so angry you drove an hour to heat a house?"

"I was so worried I couldn't sleep," Jace corrected. He looked at me. "Make yourself at home, ours."

There was only one bedroom.

I saw it through the open door. One big bed. White sheets. Two pillows on one side pushed together, one pillow on the other side alone.

"Where will I -" I started.

"With us," Ethan said, like it was obvious.

"There is only one bed," I whispered.

"Yes," Jace said. "We know."

I felt my face get hot. "We said one day with both of you. Not - not -"

"Not what?" Ethan stepped closer. He was still in that black hoodie that smelled like him. "Not sleeping in the same bed? Aria, you slept on my couch last night. You slept in Jace's arms the night before. What is different today?"

"Today is both," Jace said softly. "At the same time."

Silence.

The fire crackled.

I looked at the bed again. Then at them. Jace, calm, hands in pockets, trying to be gentle. Ethan, leaning against the wall, staring at me like he already knew I would say yes.

"I need rules," I said, my voice shaking.

"We have rules," Ethan said. "Rule one. Honesty."

"Rule two?" I asked.

Jace answered. "Rule two. You say stop and we stop. No questions."

I took a deep breath. The lake outside was so still it looked like glass.

"Rule three," I said. "No taking turns like I'm a toy. If we are here today, we are here as three. Together."

Both of them looked at each other over my head.

"Three?" Ethan repeated.

"Three," I said, louder this time. "You both say I'm yours. Then today, I'm not Jace's in the morning and Ethan's at night. Today, I'm both of yours at the same time. If you can't do that, take me back to campus now."

My hands were shaking but I didn't let go.

Jace smiled first. That soft smile that made my knees weak.

"She's right, brother," he said to Ethan. "No more his turn, my turn. Today we learn how to share."

Ethan pushed off the wall. He came to me, took my other hand. Now I was in the middle again, just like in the penthouse lobby. Jace on my left, Ethan on my right.

"One day as three," Ethan said, his voice dark and low. "Are you sure, little one? You know what that means? It means you don't go home today. You stay with us. Both of us. In one place. And we figure out how to be three."

"My heart pounded. "Your place is too cold," I had said. Jace's place is old house by the lake. Ethan's is too small.

Jace grabbed my hand tighter. "My house then. No one will find us there."

Ethan nodded. "Pack your bag, little one. One day. One night. With both of us. No hiding."

But we were already here. No packing needed.

Ethan let go and walked to the bedroom. He pulled the two pillows that were pushed together apart, then pushed all three pillows together in the middle.

"Three pillows. One bed," he said.

Jace laughed. "You are so dramatic."

"She wants three, she gets three," Ethan said. He looked at me. "Come here, Aria."

I walked to the bedroom door. My legs felt like water.

Jace came behind me, his hands on my shoulders. "We will go slow. We promise."

Ethan was in front of me, his hands on my waist.

"We said one day as ours," he whispered. "One day as shared."

And then the front door banged.

Loud. Hard. Someone was banging on the glass door.

All three of us froze.

"Hayes brothers! I know you are in there!" A girl's voice shouted. "I followed you! Aria Hayes? Are you in there with both of them?!"

Jace's face went white. "Chloe."

Ethan's jaw tightened. "Your friend Chloe followed us?"

I ran to the window. Chloe was outside, in her car, filming with her phone. Her mouth open.

"Oh my God," I whispered. "She followed us to the lake house. She is live on I*******m."

Jace and Ethan both looked at my phone - No Signal, but Chloe's phone had signal.

Outside, Chloe shouted again: "Aria! Everyone at campus is watching! They know you are with BOTH brothers!"

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